For those fist-bumping moments, you can’t beat livestream

Posted

13.05.2019

Written by

Peter Yardley

This brilliant video from the 2012 Olympic Games in London has resurfaced and recently appeared in my LinkedIn feed. What a moment! A genuine act of human warmth from a sporting legend. The young man’s face is also a picture - you can clearly envisage him attending a briefing beforehand and being warned, in no uncertain terms, that he was not, under any circumstances, to distract Mr Bolt from his race. Ready. Set…

And then… a fist bump and an infectious smile all captured live and watched by an audience of millions who found themselves stepping through their television/computer screens into the arena to share the moment.

But is it possible to capture these kinds of moments in a corporate environment and use the same techniques to bring audiences into the room, closer to home?

We recently had the honour of a lifetime in being invited to produce a livestream for one of our clients as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited their office. When most people think of corporate livestreaming they generally think of financial results presentations and earnings calls. But some vision and ambition on our client’s part, matched with our top-notch production skills gave their workforce a shared experience and something to remember for many years to come, if not the rest of their lives.

But you don’t need an Olympic champion or a head of state to generate a collectively-shared, live moment. In fact, any key communication milestone where there’s a need to engage with stakeholders is appropriate. What better way to draw your audience in than to make them a part of the moment in real time? Imagine these moments live – it could be a focal point or campaign launch where there’s a need to create a buzz – or a special event, an important speaker, an impromptu interview, a thoughtful monologue, a Q&A session, an office tour, a corporate away-day, an awards ceremony, a capital markets event... or even a key fashion show.

These are all great opportunities to employ livestreaming. And while ‘live’ is key and drives the ‘shared experience’ component, the ‘streaming’ options gives audiences choice, especially if they’re time-poor and would prefer to join remotely or via social media channels.

Live video is a great way to grab an audience’s attention and capture the immediacy of an occasion – if they show up late, they miss out. Don’t underestimate the power of FOMO (the fear of missing out) which is the ‘special sauce’ for any live video campaign.

So while livestreaming is great for formal, information-sharing purposes in a corporate environment, it can also be a powerful way to capture and create shared experiences across an organisation. Every company has its fist-bumping heroes and with some careful thought and production know-how, they can be given the right arena in which to shine.

If you want to talk about a livestreaming opportunity, please get in touch.